Matthew
Owens, whose diverse achievements have earned him acclaim from critics
and colleagues alike, began his serious study of 'cello at the age of
eighteen, in Berkeley, with renowned 'cello pedagogue Margaret Rowell.
He studied on scholarship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and
the Julliard School, later studying with Irene Sharp and Bonnie Hampton.
Soon after graduating, he became principal 'cellist of the Santa Rosa
Symphony under maestro Corrick Brown, appearing frequently as concerto
soloist and receiving critical praise for his "superb playing,"
"amazing skill" and "dramatic power." Concurrently
he began a recital career that has taken him in ever-widening circles
around the world. An early interest in contemporary music brought him
into contact with the great American master Ernst Bacon, whose works he
championed. Bacon chose Owens for radio broadcasts of his music, calling
him "a superb artist and astonishing virtuoso."

In
recent years Matthew Owens has been interested in re-establishing the
role of the
composer-performer in classical music by developing the art of improvisation
as the link between composing and performing. His own series, in Berkeley,
"Fables for A Golden Age" where he appeared as 'cellist, pianist,
and storyteller, had an international following. And his improvisational
concerts have been remarkably successful here and abroad. Following a
recent concert in Birmingham, England, he was called "a virtuoso
on the cutting-edge of 'cello," and Svetlana Gusarova of the Moscow
magazine Four Seasons praised his work as "expressive, passionate,
philosophic." Mr. Owens has also been invited to give lecture demonstrations
of the art of improvisation in conservatories in England and Russia.

For over a decade
Mr. Owens has been featured as soloist, composer, improviser, on the Distinguished
Artist Series of Four Seasons Concerts in San Francisco and Oakland, and
an Artist-In-Residence for their annual music festival in Oregon, where
a recent Oregon Coast Magazine article on the festival called Mr.
Owens a "favorite," citing his "amazing 'cello range."
Commenting on Mr. Owens' musical contributions, the late Dr. Hazaiah Williams,
director of Four Seasons Concerts said "He is a giant."